While professionals are naturally well-versed in the specifics, those just starting to develop an interest in tattooing or considering getting started need to accurately understand the performance and functions of tattoo machines, needles, and cartridges. Tattoo needles, in particular, are consumables that you'll interact with more frequently than other tools. This article will review the shapes and characteristics of various tattoo needles.
Round Needles
As the name suggests, round needles are soldered in a circular pattern around a central shaft. The difference between liners and shaders depends on the proximity of these dots. Liners are tightly packed, making them ideal for technical work, small lines, and fine details.
Slightly looser round liners are rare and are mainly used for creating thick, bold outlines, such as in Japanese traditional tattooing. Round shaders are versatile and excellent for filling and basic shading. When you see RL or RS, it refers to round liner or round shader, respectively. Generally, a number precedes RL/RS (e.g., 5RL, 5RS), indicating that 5 needles are arranged in a circular pattern.
Beginners should focus on round shaders in sizes 3, 5, 7, and 9 for shading and filling small areas.
Flat Needles
Flat needles refer to those where the needles are arranged in a straight line. Due to their shape, this type picks up a lot of ink into the skin, making them suitable for lining. This allows for crisper and darker lines with a single stroke. They are designated "FL" or, rarely, "FS." Similar to round types, the number of needles precedes "FL," commonly appearing as "3FL" or "7FL."
When are flat needles effective?
As mentioned, this needle shape can deliver more ink to the skin at once, so it's primarily used for lining. It can create dark, crisp lines as if drawn with a single stroke. Also, because it can quickly deliver more ink in one stroke, it's often used for filling and shading, and is suitable for complex shading like geometric patterns and mandalas.
Magnum Needles
Magnum needles are also used for shading. They generally have the same or longer taper as seen in round shaders. They are suitable for coloring large areas and can reduce skin trauma by minimizing the number of punctures. There are also several variations of magnum needles. Those with rounded edges are called SEM (Soft Edge Magnum).
※ For a summary table of needle shapes, click here
Types of Magnums
Name: Usage Scenario
Magnum Shader: Black & Gray, Shading and Color Packing, Realism, Traditional Style, Neo-Traditional, Tribal.
Curved Magnum Shader: Black & Gray, Realism, Traditional and Neo-Traditional, Tribal.
Double Stack Magnum: Black & Gray, Shading and Color Packing, Realism, Samoan
FLAG TATTOO SUPPLY always stocks a wide variety of needles and cartridges! Also, please let us know if there's a specific brand of cartridge you'd like us to carry! We'll consider it as much as possible!
Reference
This article is a translation and reorganization of this page.